


I'm sorry, you're a *what*?

by trashmouthTM (deasar)



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: I guess???, M/M, Reddie, it's a oneshot unless someone actually likes it and i manage to kick my ass enough to continue it, winter spirit au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 15:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17348123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deasar/pseuds/trashmouthTM
Summary: Eddie is walking home from school, and is taking a breather from all the shit going on. To his surprise, instead of spending a little time alone he meets a really badly dressed and messy-haired boy, who, by all logic, shouldn't exist.Aka the 'Richie is a winter spirit and Eddie despises winter' -AU that nobody asked for.





	I'm sorry, you're a *what*?

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to seeki who for some reason volunteered to proofread this piece of garbage

Eddie Kaspbrak hated winter.  
  
Or more specifically, he hated all the things that came with it. He despised the chilling cold that always seemed to settle in the marrow of his bones and not want to disappear, leaving him shivering even after a long and steaming hot bath. The layers of clothing he had to wear, partly because of his mother ushering him to but partly also to keep himself safe- the cold winds and glimmering snow banks were treacherous and could swallow you whole in a blink of an eye while nobody was looking. Or, in Derry, even if the whole town was looking, they wouldn't even blink or spare another thought to a small boy drowning in the freezing cotton. Not to mention the ice- that's what Eddie hated the most. Sure, the smooth patches of slippery glass that covered the roads were scary, but they were nothing compared to the black ice, hiding under the safe-looking snow, ready to claim its next victim. Especially since he had fallen and broken his arm because of said black ice a few years ago, the lingering fear of it happening again, having to feel the searing pain and being forced to stay in the hospital for so long, was enough to get him to reach for his inhaler, desperate for the puff of minty medicine that would get his lungs working again. Even though he knew full well that it was only spiced water and nothing more, after the years he had spent believing his ‘asthma' was real, the cold and dry freezing air still triggered whatever it was that made it near impossible for him to breathe properly.  
To make everything even more hellish for him, with winter came the holidays, and with the holidays came Christmas dinner with his relatives at their house, that his mother always insisted on hosting. And with that came the obligation to act like the well-behaved, polite, straight, and loving Christian boy that his mom so desperately wanted him to be.

 

So yeah, it was fair to say that Eddie hated winter.

 

*******

These were all reasons why he was kicking the snow on the ground while walking, or rather limping towards his house after school had ended. He knew he would have to walk normally and grit his teeth through the pain with a smile, or his mother would usher him to the ER and keep him there for the next week or so. And seeing as nothing was broken, he would be fine with just enough rest and a way to let his anger and frustration out. Sure, he had always been bullied; that's what being the delicate, small and ‘pretty' boy in a town like Derry got you. But boy oh boy, it had gotten so much worse around 6 months ago, right after Eddie's 17th birthday when his friends had encouraged him to sneak out of his house, and he had gone to a party. Thinking his alcohol tolerance was better than it actually was and that he could take two cans of beer had certainly been a mistake, but at least if he got one good thing out of it he learned the hard way he was a lightweight. Unfortunately, someone at the party had seen his condition and decided to have a little fun with the little ‘girly boy', and had pulled him to what he had assured was a safe and shielded corner, and Eddie hadn't been able to tell the difference from a shielded place and somewhere out in the open, so he had let his dick lead him. Against all his better judgement.  
  
Eddie Kaspbrak was a virgin and had never even kissed anyone. The most obvious reason for that would be that the small brunette boy was a huge germaphobe, but there was another that one nobody, except maybe his closest friend Bill, knew for certain. Eddie was gay, and he had figured it out at a young age. At first, he had thought that his blatant disinterest in girls, kissing, and just any kind of physical contact in general was because of his fear of germs, but he had finally realized that that might have not been the case in fifth grade when he and Bill were in the school locker rooms after gym, hiding from the bullies and their gang, and Eddie had watched with reddening cheeks and a tightening chest as his best friend came back from the shower, dripping wet and then drying himself off before changing. That night his dreams had been a little more than restless, and he had had a hard time looking his friend in the eyes for the following week before finally breaking down and confessing to him what had happened. To his luck, Bill did nothing but pull the young and sobbing boy against his chest in a tight hug, and had held him for close to two hours telling him that it was okay, he wasn't sick, he would never hate him, and that he still loved Eddie all the same, even if it was all platonic. Bill had also told him that he might like both boys and girls, but couldn't be sure about it yet. Despite Bill's unsureness, to Eddie that was maybe the most meaningful news he had ever received. He wasn't alone, it wasn't only him. He wasn't alone.

 

Ever since that day, he had allowed himself to look at other boys in a completely different light- yes, he still felt guilty some nights when he buried his magazines inside several clothes and stuffed them under his mattress as his breathing started to even out and he eyed the mess he made in disgust, always scared to death his mother would find out, and send him away for being sick. To his luck, nobody but Bill had found out, at least not until that one fateful night at the party. The random boy whose name Eddie didn't even know, but wasn't a permanent resident in Derry, had managed to convince Eddie to come with him, to try something thrilling and amazing, and after a flirty smile and a wink, the boy had grabbed Eddie's wrist, tugging him along. He had already been smitten, ready to follow his Prince Charming to the ends of the Earth. Turns out, that wasn't far at all, and Eddie found himself being pulled under the stairs and up against the boy, but he assured him that they were safe and shielded, so what was the harm? Especially when every cell and atom in his body was seeming to crave closeness with the tall boy, maybe reeking of cigarette smoke and alcohol which would have been enough to make Eddie gag and swear to stay away on a normal way, but that night it had seemed intoxicating, and he just had to have a taste. Despite it being messy, clumsy, way too horny and not meaningful at all and the worst of all, filmed and spread all around the school, the thing that made Eddie sob the hardest on the following nights in his bed, hiding under the covers, was that he had wasted his first kiss on that. And he'd never be able to get it back.

Logically, he knew that he should be more worried about the way everyone laughed and pointed at him at school, whispering and yelling derogatory and awful comments at him, or even about the fact that instead of getting punched or pushed once in a week or two, people seemed to at least try to attack him every few days. But the worst of them was Henry Bowers and his gang of goons who followed the insane boy like a herd of puppies follows its mother. The said gang was the reason why he was limping again and being forced to swallow the copper taste of blood and the salty tears rolling down his cheeks - there was no way in hell he could let his mom see him like this. Luckily, he had just only left school and had enough time to gather himself up before getting home, and maybe, just maybe, he would have a chance to sit for a few minutes in the woods he had to walk through. And then, for a few minutes, he would be able to breathe, let his tears fall, and tell his mind to calm down.

 

*******

  
  


As Eddie walked through the woods and looked up at the sky and the snow-covered tree branches, he felt like he could finally breathe again. Despite his burning hatred of the winter, there was a smallish and fairly hidden opening in the woods, right by the path he used to walk to school and home, that he had stumbled in while running away from Bowers and his gang. It was small and slightly dirty, and full of leaves and other dirt he didn't want to know the specifics of when it wasn't coated in a thick blanket of snow, but it was _safe_. And it was his. It was a place where even despite the cold air prickling his skin and making his lungs dry up he felt free. Like nothing his mom or the bullies would say to him could affect him, like the hits he received felt only like balls of fluff thrown at him. It always felt like someone, or something, was watching him, but not in a creepy way. At least that's what he hoped.

But this time around it felt different than it usually was Instead of feeling like just a general presence somewhere around him, it felt more like a person- almost scarily much so. Eddie could practically feel the staring eyes boring into his head, and looked around himself, yelling out a small and shaky "Who's there?"

For a few seconds all he could hear was the wind blowing, before a small laugh could be heard from the edge of the opening. He snapped his eyes to the spot immediately, already trying to map out his surroundings for the quickest escape route he could dash towards if there was someone there waiting to jump him. Instead of a bully closing in he watched with wide eyes as a boy, around his age from what he could tell, with unruly and curly, shaggy black hair, his skin too white, lips tinted slightly blue and rectangle coke bottle glasses on his nose. What made the situation even weirder was the way the boy was dressed- he was wearing a worn out band t-shirt, khaki shorts, old black sneakers and a.. bright coloured hawaii shirt on top of it all. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and an impish smile stretched over his face, eyes trained on Eddie curiously. For a few minutes, neither of the boys moved. It was like they were frozen in place, one engulfed in fearful confusion and the other in child-like curiosity.

While Eddie stayed rooted to the spot he was sitting in, the boy started to slowly walk closer, tilting his head like he was inspecting him. Eventually, the dark haired teen walked up to Eddie and squatted down next to him, making him jump as the boy poked his cheek. That was what finally snapped Eddie back into reality, making him let out an annoyed noise as he slapped the hand away. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Who even are you, what are you doing here, how are you not freez-"

The boy cut his flow of questions short with a loud laugh that startled Eddie, and left him staring at the laughing teen with wide eyes. As his laughter finally died down, the boy sat down on the ground next to him with a mischievous smile, the smoothness of his voice surprising the smaller boy. "Wow, calm down there, firecracker. How about one question at a time?"

As his initial curiosity wore off, Eddie felt mostly annoyed. The first thing the raven-haired boy had said was to call him a firecracker? "First of all, do not call me that! And second, who even are you, and how can you be here wearing only that?"

"Well, I guess one question at a time was an unfair wish, so I'll let that slide," the boy chuckled before tipping off an imaginary hat. "The name's Richie, and how I'm not freezing my balls off? That's simple, winter spirits don't really get cold, so I'm all warm and cosy."

Wait. What? Winter spirits? What the fuck? "Wait, what did you just say? A ‘winter spirit'? What do you take me for? I'm not a gullible idiot."

The other teen, who was apparently named Richie, just let out a chuckle and nudged the glasses on his face up a little. "Well, believe it or don't. Honestly, I couldn't tell you that much either, it's not like we get a crash course on the whole spirit thing at any point, so everything I know is stuff I've either made up, figured out, or pulled from the wind. But what I do know, is that I've seen you walking here with your head down for quite some time now, and your face is way too cute to have a frown like that on it."

That just deepened the frown on Eddie's face, and he tried his best to ignore being called cute, and blamed the small blush that was rising on his face to the cold. "Oh yeah, prove it then," he spoke in a challenging tone, and crossed his arms as he gave Richie an unimpressed look. To his dismay, the spirit didn't give up but rather got a mischievous twinkle in his eye as his grin widened a little and he raised his hand. And lo and behold, a small snowstorm, one sized like those miniature snow globes, started to slowly swirl on top of his hand. The smaller brunette couldn't help but stare in awe with his jaw hanging open, mesmerized by the small snowflakes dancing in the air, only to suddenly drop to the ground as Richie closed his fist and lowered his hand. As he slowly let his eyes travel up he could see the slightly cocky but also excited smile on the other teen's face, before it turned into a small frown as he looked up, alerted, as if listening to some voice calling to him, unheard by Eddie. Before he could properly say something he felt Richie's fingers on his cheek, and he shivered at the ice cold touch, although it was almost.. surprisingly pleasant.

"I have to go, but I'll see you around, cutie," was all he heard before Richie suddenly stood up and dashed towards the edge of the woods, disappearing into the snowy landscape in less than a minute, while Eddie was left looking after him with his thoughts jumbled in a confused mess.

 After sitting there for a few minutes, already doubting whether he'd actually just talked to someone or if his brain was so desperate for friends and comfort that it had made one up, and discovering that there were no prints on the snow in front of him, except a small dent where Richie had been sitting, did nothing to convince him that the boy he just met was real. And cute, exactly his type if he was honest- no! No. Bad Eddie. No. He was not even going to go there the slightest bit. He didn't even know if this ‘Richie' was even a real person- or spirit, he guessed. Which still made absolutely no sense, but he'd seen the evidence, right? There was just no way to suddenly fake that and make it look that real, so either he was really losing it or the boy actually controlled the snow. The thoughts and wonder continued to plague Eddie as he finally stood up and he realized that he had been sitting in the snow for too long, and his fingers and toes had lost all feeling in them already. Even later that day as he laid in his bed, he couldn't help but secretly hope that he'd see the boy again.

 

*******

 

Eddie could clearly tell that he wasn't paying attention in class the next day, and he wasn't the only one. After three of his first classes he had already been called out by his teachers five times now to focus, which in itself was already unheard of - Edward Kaspbrak, the student that got straight A's in everything but gym, being scolded by a teacher several times? At this point, Bill had already checked him for a fever thrice, and was clearly trying for a fourth as the two boys were sitting at one of the otherwise empty tables at the corner of the dining hall, making the smaller teen swat his hand away in an annoyed manner

"I'm fine, Bill! Seriously, do you really think that my mom would've let me leave my bed if I showed any signs of being sick?"

"Normally no, but come on Eddie, something's going on that you're not telling me," Bill huffed as he reluctantly settled back down in his seat. "You've been unfocused the whole day, and that's really out of the ordinary. I'm allowed to be worried-"

He was cut off by Eddie sighing softly and swatting his shoulder, signalling for him to shut up.

 "Alright alright, I'll tell you if you just shut up- and won't call me crazy." As Bill nodded quietly, albeit with a frown, Eddie took a deep breath before summing up what had happened the previous day. Except he might've left out just how cute the boy, or alleged winter spirit, was. It took maybe ten minutes after Bill's amused smile began to fade as he stared at Eddie, sighing softly when he quieted down again.

 "Holy shit, you're not kidding," the taller boy breathed out, looking at his friend with raised eyebrows. He only got an annoyed huff as a response, Eddie shaking his head as he got up.

"Wait- I believe you! I think. But I know you wouldn't just make that up, so yeah I believe you," Bill said as he looked over at Eddie, the latter just nodding slowly with a shrug.

 "Yeah. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you for not believing me, I don't even believe myself."

The two were cut off by the bell ringing, and as usual, they gathered their bags with groans and grumbling about how stupid all of this really was, and which teacher they'd have to stand in their next class. They parted with a wave and with Eddie promising he'd call if anything more happened, or at least tell Bill after the weekend, no matter how reluctantly he had made said promise.

 

*******

 

Eddie didn't remember when was the last time he was actually this excited to leave school. Sure, it sucked and was full of assholes, but at least there he had his friends and some adults who would be obliged to keep him safe. At home, yes his mother looked after him, but too much and in her own, twisted way that did nothing but harm Eddie in the end. And anywhere in town or on his way home, he was not even the slightest bit safe, seeing as he never knew what or who could be lurking around the corner, looking to pick at him or try and ‘ask a favour from the small pretty boy'. He shivered at the thought, but this time, this time he would be safe. He hurried out of the classroom, being the first one out so that he could get outside. He made sure that nobody was following him as he crouched behind the ramshackled toolshed behind the school. The place quite frankly disgusted him- it was falling apart, most likely mouldy, and probably infested with who knows what kind of germs and bugs. He guessed that was the reason why no one thought to search for the schools' infamous germaphobe there, and Eddie was able to wait somewhat safely until the other students had left the school grounds to go home or wherever they spent their time in.

 

*******

 

When he finally left his cover, he stretched while a small smile made its way onto his face. The parking lot was empty, excluding a few stray staff cars, and the sun had started to shine slightly through the thick cloud covers, filling the sky. He treaded calmly on the snow-filled path through the woods, happy that for once, he wasn't in a hurry- he had told his mother that he would be staying over at the school library with Bill, so she couldn't even call in to keep tabs on his whereabouts. Eddie hummed to himself quietly as he looked around, still despising the cold and whiteness, but maybe he was slowly starting to warm up to it. Just maybe.

 As he arrived at the opening, Eddie took a deep breath in and walked to the same stone he had been sitting on yesterday. Just as he was settling down, he heard a familiar voice behind his back, and he whipped his head around to find the same boy from the previous day standing there. He was wearing the same, all too chilly summer clothing, the same bulky glasses, and the same mischievous smirk.

Eddie exhaled slightly and looked at him annoyed, crossing his arms. "You can't just do that, you fucking scared me!"

The boy laughed and moved to sit down next to Eddie and patted his knee, making Eddie blush more than he would've liked to admit.  
"Sorry, and I most certainly will do it again!"

He huffed, annoyed at Richie's remark, but he wasn't angry, not like he would've been in some other situation where someone else had said that. Instead, he had to hold in the laughter that was bubbling up inside of him.

 

 

Yeah, maybe Eddie could learn to like winter one day. He just may need a little help from a certain winter spirit to get there.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the result of me getting inspired in the bus when it had just snowed, and then needing something to do during class. Any feedback and comments are extremely appreciated (i just crave validation dont @ me)


End file.
